Schoolboy Derby focuses on all the top 1st XV matches from around the country.

WESTERN CAPE

There will be a couple of northern suburb versus southern suburb derbies in Cape Town on Saturday. The major ones will see Bishops tackle Paarl Gym and SACS travel to Boland Landbou. Rondebosch also face Brackenfell, while Wynberg take on Bellville. The northern suburb schools have been the star performers this year, so this will be a big challenge for the boys from the south.

Another big fixture will see Paul Roos face Tygerberg in the heart of Parow.

Undefeated and highflying Grey PE will take on Queen’s, who have displayed some impressive performances this year. The coaches of both teams are also brothers. Rory Duncan coaches Grey PE, while John Duncan is in charge at Queen’s – which adds to the rivalry. Daniel Pienaar and Die Brandwag face off in an annual FNB Classic Clash.

Dale and St Andrew’s have easy outings against Stirling and Graeme respectively.

The big derby this weekend is between Hilton and Michaelhouse. The two teams are big rivals and the match will be closely followed by the locals.

Glenwood take on Northwood, in a fixture the latter surprisingly won last year. The Green Machine will be looking for revenge. Kearsney should be too strong for DHS, who have lost most of their big matches this year.

The match that has attracted the most attention is the Pretoria derby between Affies and Pretoria Boys’. They say derby matches are always closely contested, but Affies should be strong on this occasion.

Watekloof and Centurion also meet in the Nu Power final on Saturday. Klofies are the defending champions and will be favourites to defend their title, but Centurion have emerged with a powerful 1st XV this year, which boasts big forwards and pacy backs.

In other fixtures, Maritzburg College make the trip to KES in Johannesburg, which will be a closely-contested affair, while Grey Bloem entertain Selborne. The Eastern Cape school held Grey Bloem to a draw last season, so the boys from Bloemfontein will be looking to make their mark.